Can't Unlove You
by karenefron
Summary: In response to ZA Angels Write-off Challenge. One of the most tragic things that could happen to Troyella.


**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or have any affiliation with HSM.**

Gabriella jumped to her feet from her courtside seat in the VIP section of the basketball arena, screaming wildly as she cheered on her boyfriend of nearly ten years. Troy sprinted along the court before leaping through the air and sinking the basket with nothing but a soft swish of the net. The buzzer signalled the end of the game and the crowd cranked their cheers and screams of delight to a whole new level as the scoreboard flashed with the final result.

_HOME: 78 - VISITORS: 75_

Pandemonium erupted as people spilled onto the court, eager to be close to the winning team. Gabriella allowed herself to be swept along with the crowd, letting them pull her closer towards Troy. She reached his side just as he was lifted onto the shoulders of his teammates, cheering loudly. She reached out her hand to brush his arm, trying to get his attention for just a moment to tell him how proud she was of his win. He glanced at her only briefly, and the total lack of emotion in his eyes caused her to suddenly withdraw her hand, as though she'd been scalded. He looked away towards the crowd with his trademark grin and she could have almost believed she'd imagined the coldness in his eyes.

Almost.

Gabriella barely noticed as the ebb and flow of people pushed her towards the edge of the crowd, wounded by the look Troy had given her. Looking into those familiar pools of blue and not seeing the love she'd been accustomed to felt as though it would literally tear her apart. She watched as he basked in the glory of his team's win, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Troy was clearly in his element – and it was becoming increasingly obvious that there was no place in it for her.

Turning, Gabriella moved quickly out of the VIP entrance. The hallway was almost deserted; most of the people who had reason to be in this area were on the court, congratulating the players. After all, they were only LA's most famous and highly paid basketballers. And Troy was their leader; he'd been their captain for almost a year now.

Gabriella broke into a half run, wanting to be away from the public eye before she lost her battle with the tears that threatened to overtake her. Being the girlfriend of such a high profile athlete, she was used to paparazzi popping up when they were least expected, and the last thing she wanted was for any public intrusion on her heartbreak.

Finally she gained the privacy of her car and collapsed against the steering wheel, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't deny it any longer.

_He didn't love her anymore._

* * *

It was a little after two am when Troy let himself into the sumptuously appointed penthouse apartment that he and Gabriella had shared for almost five years; ever since he'd been signed to the Lakers. He closed the door carefully, not wanting to wake her. As he entered the dimly lit living room, he saw that he needn't have bothered.

Gabriella sat in the loveseat in the corner, holding herself very still, as though afraid that if she moved she might spill the tears she was trying so hard to keep in check. A book she had been pretending to read for almost four hours lay in her lap. Troy could hear the misery in her voice even as she tried to speak normally.

"Hi. How was the celebration?"

Troy's heart ached as he saw the pain in her eyes. The last thing he had ever wanted to do was hurt her. She was his best friend; even with things the way they were now, she still meant more to him than anyone. He cleared his throat.

"It was good. You should have stuck around. Chad and Taylor were asking about you."

Unintentionally, his words cut her more than almost anything else he could have said. They only served to highlight the unspoken fact that she had been missed by others – and not by him. She made a pitiful attempt at a smile.

"That's nice."

The thin silence stretched between them, all of the hurt and unspoken words hanging heavily in the air. Troy cleared his throat again.

"Well, I guess I'm going to hit the sack. We have an early practice tomorrow-"

Gabriella leapt to her feet and crossed the room in a few short seconds. "Troy-" She stopped, swallowing hard, making an effort to stop the tears that had almost begun to spill down her cheeks. She touched his arm and tried again.

"Talk to me, Troy," she whispered. The naked agony in her deep brown eyes cut him to the quick. He felt the burn of unshed tears behind his own eyes.

"Bella..." he said, before he stopped, struggling to keep his emotions in check. He wished to God there was another way out of this.

The tears began to flow freely down Gabriella's cheeks as he spoke her nickname. Only he had ever called her that. In the past, she had been able to hear the love in his voice as he said it. Now there was only pain and regret.

Gabriella shook her head slowly, her chin wobbling as she fought to keep from weeping.

"Don't, Troy-"

Troy was losing his own battle to keep from crying as he pulled her close to him. His breath caught as he swallowed a sob.

"I am so sorry...so sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I didn't see this coming. I swear I never wanted to hurt you-"

Gabriella cried harder against his chest, realising that this was it.

It was the end.

Tears began to trace a wet trail down Troy's chiselled features. He tried to keep talking as he stroked her hair, fighting the howl of pain that was clawing at his chest from deep inside his gut. He was crying openly as he finally managed to continue speaking.

"I always thought we'd be together forever. I don't know how I stopped-"

Gabriella pulled away from him, struggling to regain her composure and failing utterly. "Don't say it!" she insisted, almost hysterically. "Don't say that you don't ... just don't say it. Please."

Her pain-filled plea broke his heart a little more. He hated himself for what he was doing to her, to them. He had long realised that somehow, he was falling out of love with her. But even so, he had never thought about it coming to this. He had never _let_ himself think of it. He took a few steps back, as if by putting physical distance between them he could somehow alleviate the pain he was causing her. His best friend. The one time love of his life.

"I should go-"he managed, between the sobs he tried to keep contained. The grief and agony radiating from her hurt him more than anything he could have ever imagined.

As the real meaning of his words hit her, Gabriella sank to the floor, burying her face in her hands as she shook with the sobs that she could no longer even think of trying to suppress. The sound of her heartbroken weeping filled the silent room.

Troy felt the agony twist in his gut as he took a few steps towards her. "God, Bella, please don't cry! I don't know what else I can do – I never wanted this –"

Sobs began to wrack his muscled body as he collapsed to the floor in front of her, trying to pull her towards him. He knew that he was the source of her pain, but he couldn't stand by and watch her suffer without wanting to take her in his arms. Even though he wasn't _in_ love with her anymore... he would always love her.

Hours passed as the grief-stricken couple remained on the floor, holding onto each other tightly as they tried to accept their inevitable parting. Dawn was casting soft shadows on the pale walls of the living room when Gabriella's tears slowly began to abate. Troy continued to hold her, smoothing her hair, desperate to stop her pain but no longer able to do the one thing she needed – love her the way she loved him.

Finally Gabriella straightened up, wiping the last of her tears from her eyes. She spoke softly, the first words either of them had said since they had fallen to the floor.

"Thank you for being honest with me," she whispered. There was no trace of tears in her voice now; only quietly controlled grief.

She touched his cheek softly, fleetingly, with her slim warm hand before she rose, leaving him sitting on the floor. She walked to the door before turning back to look at him one last time.

"I'm going to Taylor's. I'll organise to get my stuff later. I just need a few days –" She stopped and took a shaky breath. She smiled sadly at him as she spoke her last words before she walked out of the apartment, out of his life.

"See you."

**Let's just be clear – I am the world's biggest Zanessa/Troyella fan. I don't want them to break up and I really didn't like writing about it. But I wrote this in response to a ZA Angels fan fiction challenge and the idea was to write about them in the aftermath of a tragedy. So while I'm aware it's not a tragedy on the scale of ethnic cleansing or something, it would be beyond awful for me and all of their millions of fans if he stopped loving her. Not to mention for Gabriella!**


End file.
